Pakistan temporarily shuts Metro Bus service ahead of SCO Meeting

Rawalpindi [Pakistan], October 13 : Ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Pakistan, the Islamabad authorities announced the suspension of Metro Bus Service in Islamabad and Rawalpindi during the conduct of the event, the News reported.
According to a Metro bus official, the district administration issued the orders to temporarily halt bus operations for four days, starting October 14 and 17 and the bus service would continue to run as usual till October 13.
The Metro Bus network was inaugurated recently in Pakistan. Opened in 2015, it stands as one of the few modern public transport routes in the country.
This is another of the multiple measures being adopted by the Pakistan government to ensure trouble-free and smooth conduct of the high-level conference scheduled to be held in the country.
According to the Foreign Office spokesperson, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will preside over the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting as the current chair.
The prime ministers of China, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as the first vice president of Iran and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Pakistan to represent their respective SCO member states.
The Mongolia PM, as an observer state, and deputy chairman of the cabinet of ministers and foreign minister of Turkmenistan, as a special guest, will also participate in the meeting, The News reported.
As part of another security measure, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) announced that its offices in Islamabad will be closed from October 14 to 16, ARY News reported.
The closure for three days is a part of security measures the country is putting in place ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit. Pakistan International Airlines is the national air carrier of Pakistan which started over 70 years ago.
In a bid to maintain the law and order situation during the SCO summit, Section 144 has been imposed in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi till October 17.
Exercising powers vested under Section 144, the Punjab government has prohibited all kinds of political assemblies, gatherings, sit-ins, rallies, demonstrations, pillion riding, aerial firing, pigeon flying, use of drones and use of laser lights from October 10 to 17 in Rawalpindi.
Section 144 in five districts for three days over security concerns. The districts include Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, and Kot Addu, The News noted.
Whereas in Karachi, Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi imposed a complete ban on any kind of public gathering within the territorial limit of the provincial capital under the powers delegated by the Sindh home department.
Meanwhile, the federal government has announced a three-day public holiday for educational institutes in Islamabad from October 14 to 16. Additionally, notices were issued to traders and hotel owners by the police, warning that any violations would result in penalties.